Mystical Blade
by Simon Creed
Summary: A little story about Manji and Rin. Please, please, please review!!!


Hey everyone, this is my first fic! I've read some before, but this will be the first one that I wrote. I'm not saying don't flame me, if it's not good, please tell me! Blade of the Immortal is so cool, and so I thought I'd write a fic about it!  
  
I guess I should say that I don't own Blade of the Immortal or anything. Well, I own the first two mangas, but that's about it.  
  
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"Mystical Blade"  
  
Traveling between towns exhausted both of them. Their search for Anotsu Kagehisa had proven fruitless on all accounts, and the continuous stress was driving Rin to madness. Manji felt sorry for the girl, so about halfway between towns he suggested that the two should rest for a while. Just as he had expected, Rin quickly fell asleep, and Manji lifted her limp body in his arms and continued on their way.   
  
The rest of the trip passed much quickly, and Manji stopped at the first inn he came across. "Got a room?" he asked the keep.  
  
"Depends. Like to say what you're doing carryin' the girl like that? We don't like thieves or kidnappers or their likes around here."  
  
"Listen pal, if I kidnapped her, do you really think that I'd be carryin' her in my arms without a gag or something on her? She fell asleep, and that's all you need to know. We're tired, and I don't feel like going any place else, so I'll give you a ryo for a room."  
  
"A r-ryo? Sure, got a room right over here, follow me!" He lead them to the best room he had available. "Here ya go! If ya need anything else, just let me know!" The keep closed the door, and through the walls, Manji heard him say, "A whole ryo!! I'm good for a month!!" He knew that he had greatly overpaid, but he didn't care; he was too tired to. He laid out Rin on the mat and pulled up a blanket over her, then pulled up a spot of floor and fell asleep himself.   
  
Dreams kept him up, but he was thankful for it. He heard the keep talking to someone else at the counter, and he didn't like the sounds of it. "Yeah, they came in here" the keep said. "I wouldn't give 'em a room though. Damn thieves, I won't let them stay here. I could tell just by looking at 'em."   
  
The only response Manji heard was a deep grunt, then he heard the front door of the inn slide open and then shut. He closed his eyes, and in a way that would fool anyone, pretended that he was asleep. The keep came into their room, making sure to close the door behind him. He knelt down next to Manji and tapped him on the shoulder. "S-Sir?" he said. Just as Manji pretended to sleep, he pretended to wake up. "Sir, there was a fellow here looking for you two. He was clean, sir, but his sword, it smelled of blood."  
  
"What did he look like?"  
  
"He was tall, but not that strong-looking. He had no hair, not even eyebrows. Umm he wore a sleeveless blue shirt, and also had blue gloves. Cloth covered the lower half of his face, so I couldn't see that."  
  
"Why'd you cover for us?"  
  
"Sir, you paid me enough that I'd be fine without customers for a month. I always take care of my customers, especially the well-paying ones!"  
  
"I see, thank you." Before another word could be said, a sword tore through the wall and headed straight towards the sleeping Rin. The keep jumped in front of it, but Manji jumped in front of him. Pain shot directly to his brain as the sword pierced his chest. Just because he was immortal didn't mean that he couldn't be hurt.   
  
"SIR!!!" the keep said as he went to Manji's side. "Sir, you..."  
  
"S'okay. I've had worse, really. Can ya help me with one thing though?"  
  
"Yes, anything!"   
  
"Can you help me get the sword out?" But before either of them could do anything, the sword slid out the same way it went in, and tore another hole in the wall on it's way out. "ARRGHHH!!" cried Manji. "Shi...that hurts." The keep jumped to the window, and saw the same man who had come in earlier running into the forest.   
  
"It's him, sir."  
  
"Really?!? Ya know, I had a feeling it might be!" he said, with a minor hint of sarcasm. The bloodworms had already emerged and were doing their thing before he was even done talking. He got up and ran to the door, grabbing his sword on the way. "Protect the girl," he told the keep, as he ran after their attacker.  
  
He followed his footsteps for quite a while, leading him deep into the forest. They stopped at the base of one tree, but because the trees were so close together, it would easily be possible to jump from one to another. He looked around for a bit, but couldn't see the man anywhere.   
  
He heard it before he saw it coming, and in one motion, Manji drew his blade and spun around to deflect the mystical sword that was flying right at him. The sound of the two blades hitting was enough to scare away a bird that was in a nearby tree. The blade flew away, but Manji was able to follow it for a little bit, before it flew out of sight. "Damn, lost it again..." But not for long. The man leapt from a tree somewhere behind Manji and landed upright on two feet. Manji spun to face his assailant. "So you're the one...Kinda scrawny, aren't ya?"  
  
The man lifted his hand from his side, and the sword rose to meet it. Grasping the handle, the man said, "The girl must die. And so must you. Both of you are a threat to the Itto-Ryu school. I can't have that."   
  
"Are you Anotsu Kagehisa?"  
  
"Hah. If I were, you would already be dead."  
  
"Nice to see you have such faith in your skills. Loser."  
  
"Oh I do, but I have much more in his. He will unite all of the schools, and you will not be around to stop him." He threw the sword, hitting Manji in the chest once again and pinning him to a tree.   
  
"Damn. Twice you've done that now." He coughed, and could taste the distinct flavor of blood in his mouth. With his free hand, he reached up and grabbed the man's sword by the handle. He could feel the mysterious power running through his hand. It was alive, he could tell. Slowly, he began to pull it out, but he could also feel the blade wanting to return to its master. He struggled to keep a hold on it, while the man stretched out his hand, beckoning his sword to return. "But..." he said as he pulled it out the rest of the way in a quick motion and thrust it into the ground. He put his foot atop of the blade, which kept it from going anywhere. "What now?" The sword wriggled around, and so did its master's hand, but it could not go anywhere. "You can't fight without it. I can smell it, ya know. The sword does all the killing while you stand back. So like I asked, what now?"   
  
"You doubt my skills? So be it!!" the man screamed and let loose a handful of shurikens aimed at Manji. He had accomplished what he had wanted; Manji had moved his foot from atop the blade, which was already on its way back to its master. However, he had not counted on Manji's blade coming along with it. Manji had spun around to dodge the stars, and at the same time thrust his blade in the man's direction. Before the mystical sword could even touch its master's hand, Manji's blade struck him in the head, going in one side and emerging from the other, and he fell to the ground. The magic sword lay nearly a foot from the man's hand, and a slight moaning sound could be heard from it. Manji grabbed his sword, and slashed at the mystical blade, cutting it in two.   
  
"Hell, nowadays you can't just kill the man - you gotta kill his sword too! Sheesh!" He wiped off his blade and headed back to the inn. "Well, one less bad guy I have left to kill."  
  
He returned to find the keep still at the side of the sleeping Rin.   
  
"Is he...?"  
  
"Yeah, I got the sucker." He looked at Rin - at the peaceful look on her face as she slept. He truly envied her. "Thanks for watching her." And with that the keep left them once again.   
  
"How do you do it Rin? Sleeping through something like that..." He pulled a blanket over his body and lay down. "Be glad that you can," he said as he pat her head and let his head hit the floor. He knew that he would have no problems sleeping now.   
  
Soon afterwards he started to snore. Rin opened her eyes. "Silly guy," she said with a smile, "Thanks for carrying me..."  
  
  
The End  
  
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Well, that's it. What do you guys think? Please tell me!! Ah, that was fun writing that! I see now Cricket! Love and thimbles always!! =)  



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